The Ring

TWENTY EIGHT

I wake up the next morning to meet the sun blaring against my eyes. I go to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth. When I'm done, I stare at my image in the mirror. I look different. And it's a good different.

At first, anytime I looked into the mirror, I saw sadness and discontentment. I saw misery. I even literally saw a deep blue sea the last time I dared to look at my image. And so I decided not to look again.

Now it was just me. A happy me. A bundle of long, wavy dark red hair that fell down to my lower back, glistening tortilla brown eyes filled with contentment, a glowing face, rosy cheeks and full lips pulled up to a genuine smile. This is a version of me I've not recognized for a while. And I hadn't seemed to realize how better I could be.

I wrap my towel around my slender body and dab my wet face and hair with another. I open the bathroom door and walk out, only to find green eyes staring at me. They scan my body critically as I stand there, frozen on the spot. Why is the towel so short? I almost feel naked.

"Uh, Raphael? What are you doing here?" I say coyly, trying to hide my bare thighs with my palms.

"Sorry for uh... intruding. I just came up here to tell you that breakfast is ready."

I nod stiffly. "I'll be there in a minute."

              The breakfast table smells good. For some reason, it makes my mood better.

"You shouldn't be doing this all the time... you know... breakfast and stuff."

Raphael chuckles. "I love doing it. I don't mind. Plus you mostly oversleep." he says, a hint of amusement in his eyes. My cheeks flush. Great. I got too comfortable here, oversleep and leave Raphael to do breakfast all by himself.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I don't mean to..." I apologize, letting out a nervous laughter.

"It's alright. I like to serve people anyway." he smiles.

I smile back and pay attention to my food. I fumble with my bread for a while, wanting to break the silence with something that's been on my mind. Raphael looks up at me quizzically, wondering why I'm not eating.

I force a smile and bite into the toast as he stares at me. My hands tremble nervously. I don't know whether or not to bring up this topic. What if it ruins the moment?

"Ingy..." he calls, trying to reach for my hand, but he withdraws his hand and clenches it with hesitation. "I'm sorry... may I call you Ingy?"

"Oh yeah sure." I smile.

"Or I should probably call you Nervy Pants because you're shaking like a jelly right now." he teases with a gentle smile. I bow my head with embarrassment. "Do you want to say something?"

"Um..." I lick my lips readily, putting the bread down. "About last night... I mean... I kissed you and we.... you know. So I was hoping you would... we could..." I stop stuttering and sigh, realising I'm making little sense. "I'm sorry. It's just awkward and I'm not forcing you or anything...."

Raphael just stares at me, his eyes bright with amusement. He chuckles at my stuttering and takes my hand. "It's okay. If you want it and I want it, why not?"

"I'm not sure yet about what I want. But I need to confess something. I was thinking about what happened last night all night. I think I... uh... I..." I bow my head again and shake my head. "It's stupid, I know but..."

He scans my expression, analysing and trying to figure everything out. He then leans back in his chair to process the information. It leaves me wondering whether I rushed everything. But he suddenly puts on a small smile and leans in to me.

"You like me?" he asks with surprise and amusement evident in his bright green orbs. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I guess it's the reason why I didn't want to return to Adrian. It just happened and I..."

"Ingy, listen. Don't be worried. Besides, I think I like you too. But if you need more time or anything, I'm a very patient guy."

I feel a heavy burden leave my shoulders. He likes me too. What? What about Emily? Did he get over her?

"So that being said, I think we should finish our breakfast and then, I could take you out on a date." he says, with a smirk. Is he asking me out for real?

I nod stiffly again. "I like the sound of that." I say with a smile.

He smiles back and goes back to eating. But I still sit there, a nervous wreck. I stare stupidly at him as he eats. I clench my thighs together as he puts the coffee mug between his lush lips. There's just one thing I want to do to those lips. I never make the move, because I've never been bold enough. But this time, I think I'm ready.

His eyes meet mine staring at him, and he smirks.

"Ingy, are you..."I stop him from talking when I lean in and touch his soft lips with mine. At first, he sits there in surprise at my sudden actions. Then he returns the kiss slowly and passionately. I pull away after a while feeling nervous again. Why did I do that?

Raphael chuckles and leans in to me. "Relax." he whispers, rubbing his thumb against my cheek. Thereafter, he crashes his lips against mine, moving them deftly and gently at the same. He tastes amazing. His one hand is in my hair, massaging my scalp, his other hand on my cheek. I slowly rub mine against his solid chest, he groans with pleasure.

We both pull away, but he's still leaning in, looking at me critically.

"You're an angel. Very soon you'll be my  angel." he smiles.

"Um..." I hum, my cheeks red. "I think we've had enough breakfast. "

His lips tug up into a smirk as he teases me with his green eyes. "Sure we have."

❇

Yeah I know.  Cringe cringe cringe. But come on. I hope it's not too cringalicious. Vote and comment. Thanks for everything.

This chapter is dedicated to LibrasWriter, my very first reader and commenter and voter. I appreciate your support.  💛💚💜